Friday, January 29, 2010

Struck by meteorite - who owns the stone?


On 18 January, 2010, a small meteorite blew a hole in the roof of a doctor's office in Virginia: the Williamsburg Square Family Practice (see WaPo article). The doctors, Marc Gallini and Frank Ciampi, magnanimously donated the space rock to the Smithsonian museum in exchange for a modest fee ($5000), which the pair planned to donate to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

The meteorite in question. [picture from Linda Davidson/the Washington Post]


Enter the building landlords, Deniz and Erol Mutlu, who are now claiming ownership of the meteorite. They contend that since it struck their property, the rock is theirs according to prior precedent. My immediate sympathies lie with the doctors, since it is better to have these important space objects in the hands of museums where the public and scientists can enjoy them, rather than locked away in the hands of private collectors. The landowners may have an argument in court, but what if the meteorite had struck one of the doctors? What if it killed someone in the office? Would that person be entitled to the object that struck them? Nevertheless, this will be an interesting court case. I wonder if there are any lawyers that specialize in interplanetary law.